In Baldur’s Gate 3, the character animation stands out with its impressive quality. It’s difficult to pick just one example, but the unique head movements of Lae’zel when discussing githyanki immediately come to mind. This level of animation detail was achieved by Larian through extensive motion capture involving numerous voice actors.
Alena Baranova, the director and writer of Baldur’s Gate 3, explained in her post on X that:
all 248 actors, including NPCs, not just companions, were dressed in mocap suits. Their movements, gestures, and physical shapes were recorded and sent to animators along with audio files for use in the game. This is why the performances feel so realistic.
Baranova mentions that in certain cases, such as cinematic scenes or when the actor was unavailable, motion capture couldn’t be utilized.
Baranova further adds:
The ritual head nods by Shadowheart, performed by Jennifer English, are actual head nods by Jen. The militant and alien movements of Lae’zel were a deliberate physical choice made by Devara Wilde for this character.
Baranova describes the role of the director and writer as ensuring that the vocal performances matched the physical actions, making it evident in the mocap footage.
This meticulous attention to detail undoubtedly brought the main cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 to life. It’s noteworthy that similar care was also given to the smaller NPCs. This ensures a consistent level of quality between the main content and side stories. It serves as further evidence that the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 was not a mere “trick,” but the result of years of dedicated work by skilled professionals.
Original from www.playground.ru rnrn
